Buying a trailer!

[Capt. Clueless]

Following on from my trailer weight thread, it's crazy isn't it? It appears to be cheaper to buy a trailer WITH a boat than a trailer on it's own!! So, if I do this, what could I do with the boat? donate it to a kids playground for pirate games or what? Any suggestions? I can hardly drop it off the trailer outside my local charity shop, and I sure haven't got space for one.:ambivalence::ambivalence:

 

[Corribee Boy]

Hoist it into a tree and use it for the kids to play in!

 

[ProDave]

so what boat will you have going spare?

 

[Floyd Raser]

Following on from my trailer weight thread, it's crazy isn't it? It appears to be cheaper to buy a trailer WITH a boat than a trailer on it's own!! So, if I do this, what could I do with the boat? donate it to a kids playground for pirate games or what? Any suggestions? I can hardly drop it off the trailer outside my local charity shop, and I sure haven't got space for one.:ambivalence::ambivalence:

Yep, it's crazy. And very frustrating. I must admit I was a bit naive when I bought my boat, thinking that it would be fairly easy to get a suitable trailer for a reasonable price, but not so.
My gamble and I've brought it all on myself so I can't complain, just hope others read this and don't think the same. You're right it would be cheaper, or as cheap to get a trailer with boat attached and I have already thought about doing the same.

Just my observation but conversely, spending £1500 on a trailer only adds £500 to the collective value of boat + trailer? Never mind; it's only money and you can't take it with you.:ambivalence:

 

[Capt. Clueless]

so what boat will you have going spare?

Don't know yet, but it'll certainly be 22 to 23'

 

[Slycat]

I'm selling my fin keep trailer, was for a 30 ft yacht but selling fairly cheap as I dont need it. Note!!! I'm in Northern Ireland... pm if interested tho

 

[Capt. Clueless]

Funnily enough, I saw a trailer for sale on one of the classified sites, ebay or something, and thought mmmmm. However, I then saw that it was in N Ireland, and unfortunately probably would cost me the price of the trailer to get it home.

 

[[159032]]

spending £1500 on a trailer only adds £500 to the collective value of boat + trailer? Never mind; it's only money and you can't take it with you.:ambivalence:

Many boat trailers are badly neglected.
If it's a used close-coupled for wheel trailer think about the cost of 4 bearing sets and 4 brake shoe sets plus, possibly, new mudguards. Tyres are usually sun=damaged and cracked

 

[Capt. Clueless]

Many boat trailers are badly neglected.
If it's a used close-coupled for wheel trailer think about the cost of 4 bearing sets and 4 brake shoe sets plus, possibly, new mudguards. Tyres are usually sun=damaged and cracked

Newark monthly autojumble would sort all of that stuff out. That will be my 1st port of call when I get a trailer needing some work.

 

[Floyd Raser]

Many boat trailers are badly neglected.
If it's a used close-coupled for wheel trailer think about the cost of 4 bearing sets and 4 brake shoe sets plus, possibly, new mudguards. Tyres are usually sun=damaged and cracked

Yup. The main worry is the condition of the suspension units; I've known them to come adrift. I borrowed a 4 wheeled car trailer once, only to find it had 2 wheels removed. One of the suspension units had broken up and the wheel/axle etc came off. He took the other wheel off for balance. It was an interesting day fetching a TR7 back from Welshpool to Leicester! Luckily I also borrowed a Volvo 240 estate for the job.

Bearings are cheaper if time is not an issue; remove a set of the old ones to read the numbers on the races, then buy on Ebay or bearing dealer thus avoiding "boat tax".
Brakes could be a problem if they are salt damaged but they're not too pricey.

The trailer I was on about is on Appolloduck and located in Norwich, well Brundall. I think I'm going for a new one.

 

[Seajet]

I suspect there is a lot of truth in this thread; not needing trailers myself and having seen some shabbily maintained examples, I thought trailers a liability likely to have the tyres, bearings & brakes knackered long before the boat.

Then I had reason to have a good look at a boat at my club today; the substantial pro 4 wheel braked trailer looks a serious affair, and APPEARS almost new; however I know the 22' wooden lift keel boat has been on it for years and is a sorry sight.

In this case it may well be worthwhile having the lot just to have the trailer - which no doubt needs a good going over but structurally & visibly seems great.

Don't know the owner but if you get really pushed PM me and I'll ask !

 

[ghostlymoron]

When I needed a boat trailer, I looked in the usual place, eBay. And bought a well used four wheeler with rollers for a motorboat. Once I got it home and assessed it properly (having already spent fifty quid for a new tyre), reality took over. It was boxed section, ungalvanised with a great deal of work removing the rollers, fitting keel trays, replacing bearings and brakes etc. And I would still have doubts about the internal condition of the box sections.
I put it back on eBay where it was bought by someone who needed it to do a one off trip for a mobo.
These second hand buys look feasible but often need a lot of work, time and money. People don't tend to sell good boat trailers.

 

[mlines]

I agree that trailers have gone up in price quite dramatically, we bought a good one in 2009 for £700 and now in 2015 struggled to find a similar condition used trailer for less that £1300.

On a related area, do not leave your trailer servicing until the start of the season. I found out when talking to our local (but national chain) trailer workshop that they have a January sale on servicing as this is the quietest month for them. Come April/May every boat, horsebox and caravan is getting ready for summer so they have more servicing than they can cover and charge full price. I had a full service with significant discount last January.

 

[ghostlymoron]

Trailer servicing?
Grease bearings, check electrics, grease coupling. I'm not going to pay someone to do that!